602 



ANNUAL REGISTER, ]8l6. 



to the importance of females ap- 

 plies with equal force to the 

 treatment of old men. Among 

 tribes who subsist by hunting, 

 the labours of the chase, and the 

 wandering existence to which that 

 occupation condemns them, ne- 

 cessarily throws the burden of 

 procuring provisions on the active 

 young men. As soon, therefore, 

 as a man is unable to pursue the 

 chase, he begins to withdraw 

 something from the precarious 

 supplies of the tribe. Still, how- 

 ever, his counsels may compen- 

 sate his want of activity ; but in 

 the next stage of infirmity, when 

 he can no longer travel from 

 camp to camp, as the tribe roams 

 about for subsistence, he is then 

 found to be a heavy burden. In 

 this situation they are abandoned 

 among the Sioux, Assiniboins, 

 and the hunting tribes on the 

 Missouri. As they are setting 

 out for some new excursion, 

 where the old man is luiable to 

 follow, his (liildi'en, or nearest 

 relations, place before him apiece 

 of meat and son)e water, and 

 telling him that he has lived long 

 enough, that it is now time for 

 him to go home to his relations, 

 who could take better care of him 

 than his friends on earth, leave 

 him, without remorse, to perish, 

 when his little supply is ex- 

 hausted. 1'he same custom is 

 said to (jrevail among the Minne- 

 tarees, Ahnahawas, and Ricaras, 

 when they are attended by old 

 men on their liunting excursions. 

 Yet, in their vil'ages, we saw no 

 want of kindness to old men. (Jn 

 the contrary, probably because in 

 villages the means of more abun- 

 dant subsistence renders such 

 cruelty unnecessary, the old peo- 



ple appear to be treated with at- 

 tention, and some of their feasts, 

 particulttily the buffaloe dances, 

 were intended chieflT as a contri- 

 bution for the old and infirm. 



The dispositions of these people 

 seem mild and inoffensive, and 

 they have uniformly behaved to 

 us with great friendship. They 

 are addicted to begging and pil- 

 fering small articles, when it can 

 be done without danger of de- | 

 tection, but do not rob wantonly, 

 nor to any large amount ; and 

 some of them having purloined 

 some of our meat, which the 

 hunters had been obliged to leave 

 in the woods, they voluntarily 

 brought some dogs a few days 

 after, by way of compensation. 

 Our force and great superiority 

 in the use of fire-arms, enable us 

 always to command ; and such is 

 the friendly deportment of the!e 

 people, that the men have been 

 accustomed to treat them with j 

 the greatest confidence. It is 

 therefore with dlHiculty that we 

 can impress on our n)en a con- 

 viction of the necessity of being 

 always on our guard, since we 

 are perfectly acquainted with the 

 treaciierous character of Indians 

 in general. We are always pje- 

 ])ared for an attack, anJ imifor;i;ly 

 exclude all large j)artirs of In- 

 dians from the fort. Their lar^e 

 houses usually contain seveial 

 families, consisting of the parents, 

 their sons and daughters-in-law, 

 and grand-children, among whom" 

 the provisions are common, and 

 whose harmony is scaicely ever 

 interrupted by disputes Al- 

 thj-Migh polygamy is permitted by 

 their customs, very few liave more 

 than a single wife, and she is 

 brought immediately after the 



mai'riage 



